Reconstituting My Blog

Man, it is unbelievable how time flies. My last entry to the blog came about the time I was making the decision to cut ties with the organization with which I was volunteering and go out on my own. The whole process was a little easier said than done. It involved getting my own place in town, figuring out the whole market place for buying food, the intricacies of daily living without help cooking for me or telling how to get things done. But, on the flip side, I've never been one to not take on a challenge.

The unfortunate thing is that I got out of the habit of updating my blog. Many times I thought about it but then I always got sidetracked. So, here's to the hope that I can get it going again and keep people updated on my travels and adventures.

What have you all missed in the last year? Well, my travels took me to Rwanda, Zimbabwe, a medical airlift back to the States, 6 months helping family in Florida, and most recently a 2 month cross-country drive with my mom. At some point, I'll try to come back and provide some details but the following is a quick (or not so quick) summary.

Rwanda... what can I say. At the beginning of June 2008, Mary, who volunteered with me, and I took a trip to Rwanda. We traveled overland by bus. Day one meant a matatu (minivan) to the Ugandan border and then a second matatu to Kampala, Uganda. We overnighted at the Red Chili hostel and then caught a bus westward the next morning. Another overnight near the Ugandan/Rwandan border. Once we arrived in Rwanda, with its modern roads, it was just a short trip to the Virunga area.

We spent a day trekking to see the silverback gorillas. It was one of the most difficult things I've done because of the steep hike up the mountains. It took about 3 hours to reach the 9,000 foot mark where the gorillas roam. You're only allowed one hour in proximity of the gorillas and the climb was well worth it. They are such large creatures with soulful eyes.

The rest of our week in Rwanda involved overexposure to genocide memorials. I need to post my journal from this time period because it was so thought provoking. Between 800,000 and 1,000,000 people were killed in a period of 100 days. The ability of the human mind to rationalize the killings of others is beyond me. I'm glad I spent the time there but sometimes wish that I could remain naive to what I saw.

Near the end of my trip, I had the opportunity to join a 19 person delegation to Portland's Sister-City of Mutare, Zimbabwe. I thought I would be prepared for the poverty because of my time spent in Kenya but I was wrong. The government, the economy, everything is is such total disarray. What struck me most though is the amount of faith that people still carry in their hearts. They believe that life will get better. It was an emotional journey for all of us.

With 2 days left in Zimbabwe, I got terribly sick and started going into uncontrollable epileptic seizures. I am not new to seizures but these got the best of me. With the medical system in disarray, treatment was difficult. Many thanks to Maria Kosmetatis and Mary O'Hearn who provided me medical care as best they could. It took the help of the mayor and his staff, other trip delegates, and Zimbabwean organizers to get at least some medication to stabilize me. After a night in the local hospital I was driven across the border to Mozambique and airlifted to Johannesburg, South Africa. I remained there for 3 1/2 days before being airlifted back to Portland and OHSU.

December saw me relocating to Florida so that I could help my mom and stepdad as he battled mesothelioma lung cancer. It was such a privilege to be able to help them in a time of great need. He lost the battle at the end of March.

As my Facebook followers know, I've been on a wonderful 2 month trip. To date, my mom and I have put on over 7,500 miles. We've been to brother's in Oregon, an uncle's in Montana, Yellowstone, Mt. Rushmore, stepsister's in Illinois and Indiana, and a niece in Illinois. In the next 2 weeks I will have attended my 30th High School reunion and visit my oldest brother in North Carolina.

On August 2nd, I'll be boarding a plane to return to Kenya. Stay posted for lots of news and fun.